This invention relates to douching apparatus, and more particularly, to a totally self-contained, disposable douche product.
Conventional douching apparatus normally contains a reusable, flexible bag having an opening at one end, a tube adapted to be mounted on and removed from the bag and a nozzle attached to the distal end of the tube. In order to use a douching apparatus, the bag is manually filled with a liquid douching solution and the bag is then supported in an elevated position in order that the liquid may be gravity fed under sufficient pressure.
Use of this inventional douching is accompanied by many inconveniences. To begin with, the user must make the appropriate douching solution, usually by mixing a powder with a liquid in the bag. The bag must then be raised and mounted in an elevated position, which is not always convenient or easy to do. A clamp on the hose must be closed to avoid the solution from unintentionally escaping. When finished using the apparatus, it is necessary to carefully clean and store the apparatus since it is intended to be used repeatedly. This problem is compounded in institutional use, such as in hospitals, wherein the apparatus must be sterilized before each use.
A more convenient douching apparatus is formed of a resilient bulb having a pipe or nozzle extending therefrom. The user must make the appropriate solution and place it in a glass, evacuate the bulb by squeezing it, insert the nozzle in the solution and release the bulb to ingest the solution into the bulb. The apparatus is then ready for use and the liquid is expelled from the apparatus by squeezing the bulb. Both the nozzle and the bulb must be carefully cleaned and stored.
In addition to cleaning and storage, another inconvenience in using conventional douching apparatus is the tendency for the effluent douching solution to contact the user's legs and hands as it is being expelled from the body cavity into which the douching solution has been directed.
Accordingly, it is an an objective of this invention to provide a douche nozzle which is sufficiently inexpensive to manufacture as to permit it to be disposable and which is adapted to be easily attached to and removed from the liquid container.
It is another objective of this invention to provide a douche nozzle having a shield formed as an integral part thereof wherein the shield is contoured to direct the flow of effluent away from the user's body.
It is a further objective of this invention to provide a disposable douche product which is completely self-contained and ready for use and which includes an improved nozzle having a flow directing shield integrally formed thereon.
Additional objectives and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalties and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.